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‘Operation Coin Toss’ yields 24 arrests

For the past two months, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Impact Unit (TIU) has covertly executed Operation Coin Toss, a comprehensive operation aimed at cracking down on the distribution of illegal narcotics within our county.. This effort has been a resounding success.

After securing over 20 arrest warrants with the help of the State Attorney’s Office, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) executed four search warrants throughout the west side of Citrus County.

This operation resulted in the arrest of 24 individuals, 15 of whom held prior felony convictions. Though there was active drug use during entry and weapons at some locations, all warrants were served without incident or injury to CCSO deputies.

The Sheriff’s Office said that because of their dedication to the mission of protecting Citrus County from the scourge of illegal drugs, detectives were able to remove a wide array of narcotics from the streets of the county’s communities, including: fentanyl, oxycodone, methamphetamines, heroin, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, hydrocodone, Suboxone, morphine, alprazolam, diazepam and methadone.

The 24 subjects CCSO detectives arrested during the course of Operation Coin Toss have been charged with the following offenses: drug trafficking, sale of a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm (electronic weapon) by a convicted felon, possession of paraphernalia, possession of a firearm by convicted felon, make/amend/possess false note/certificate/money, damaging bank bills, knowingly pass a false/forged/counterfeit bill/check, and uttering counterfeit bills.

“The entire Citrus County Sheriff’s Office team proved once again its dedication to cleaning drugs off the streets of our community,” said Sheriff Mike Prendergast. “These apprehended individuals posed a serious threat to our citizens, and through the diligence of our Tactical Impact Unit, we have taken a major step towards making our community the safest in Florida. As I have said in the past, illegal activity such as this will be caught in Citrus County.”

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